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Elizabeth Achtemeier

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Preaching

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Sixth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 16:9-15 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Sixth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
Our text for the morning sets us down in the middle of what many have called Paul's second missionar
Proper 16 -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - C -- 2003
You and I and all persons in our day are not prophets in the Old Testament sense of the word.
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany -- Jeremiah 1:4-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2003
We modern-day Christians are not called to be prophets in the Old Testament sense of the term.
Proper 17 -- Jeremiah 2:4-13 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - C -- 2003
This passage forms some of the earliest preaching of Jeremiah after his call in 626 B.C.
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany -- Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13) -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2003
We use the word "holy" a lot.
Proper 19 -- Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - C -- 2003
"Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them" (v. 12).
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany -- Jeremiah 17:5-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2003
In many respects religious faith has become a rather casual affair in our society.
Proper 20 -- Jeremiah 8:18--9:1 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - C -- 2003
This moving elegy is the passage from which the Negro spiritual, "There is a balm in Gilead," is tak
Good Friday -- Isaiah 52:13--53:12 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Good Friday - C -- 2003
This is the fourth and final Servant Song in Second Isaiah, and because of its content, it has been
Proper 21 -- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - C -- 2003
The time is 588 B.C. in our text.
Proper 22 -- Lamentations 1:1-6 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - C -- 2003
We are uncomfortable with tears and lamenting, aren't we?
Proper 23 -- Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - C -- 2003
The prominent people, the "best" people of Judah, were carried into Babylonian exile in the first de
Proper 24 -- Jeremiah 31:27-34 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - C -- 2003
The lectionary has included two separate oracles in this reading, verses 27-30 and verses 31-34.
Proper 25, Reformation Sunday -- Joel 2:23-32 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - C -- 2003
The lectionary sometimes begins a reading in the middle of one oracle and adds to it another.
Proper 27 -- Haggai 1:15b--2:9 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - C -- 2003
A cynic once remarked that Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God, and what he got was the church -
Epiphany of Our Lord -- Isaiah 60:1-6 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2003
This serves as the stated text for Epiphany in all three cycles of the lectionary.
Fifth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 11:1-18 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
This story about Peter's mission to the Gentiles continues the account that began in 10:1, and it re
Second Sunday after Epiphany -- Isaiah 62:1-5 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2003
For those who like to preach from all three lectionary texts, the stated readings for this Sunday co
Fourth Sunday of Easter -- Acts 9:36-43 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - C -- 2003
A number of subsidiary themes emerge in this reading from Acts, and we probably should take note of
Proper 18 -- Jeremiah 18:1-11 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - C -- 2003
Have you ever seen a potter at work at his wheel?
New Year's Day -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- New Year's Day - B -- 2003
All of us know that there are proper times to do and say certain things.
Third Sunday after Epiphany -- Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2003
We live in a society in which right and wrong have become largely a matter of personal opinion.
Third Sunday in Lent -- Exodus 20:1-17 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Third Sunday in Lent - B -- 2001
In this season of Lent, we are Sunday by Sunday approaching the foot of that executioner's cross on
Good Friday -- Isaiah 52:13-53:12 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Good Friday - B -- 2001
We might call this reading from Second Isaiah "The Great Reversal," because that is what it is about
Proper 9 -- 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier -- Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 - B -- 2001
We have here the account of how David was made king over all the tribes of Israel, after ruling for
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 10 | OT 15 | Pentecost 5
30 – Sermons
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Proper 11 | OT 16 | Pentecost 6
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 12 | OT 17 | Pentecost 7
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
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John Jamison
Object: You may present this message as a simple story, or have the children act it out as a role-play. I will show the role-play version, but you can ignore the acting pieces and just tell the story if you prefer.

Note: For the role-play version, you will need to select two girls and one boy to play the roles. You might also have a broom and a dust rag if you want to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started.

The Immediate Word

Mary Austin
Dean Feldmeyer
Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
George Reed
Katy Stenta
For July 20, 2025:

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52
Amos proclaims the word from God that punishes the people. The people are to be punished for their lack of faith, for their focus on practicing deceit, betraying honesty to their neighbors, and being impatient for the time after the Sabbath when they can focus on profit and selling their crops and wares. Oh, my! What a terrible message for people. You have been unfaithful so I will punish you. And then in the psalm, God is proclaimed to be the olive tree, that which brings blessing.
David Kalas
I have tried to find different ways of saying it so that my children don’t tire of hearing it. But the basic principle remains the same, and my kids have heard it a ton. “First things first.” They ask if they can do this or they start to do that, and I will endeavor to redirect them, saying, “Why don’t we make sure we’re doing first things first!”

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (v. 24)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
One of Martha's earliest memories was of her little sister Mary singing and dancing in the middle of an admiring crowd of friends. Mary had always been a dancer, from the time she could walk. Privately, Martha thought she'd always been something of a show-off and ought to go on the stage, for Mary loved an audience.

SermonStudio

John E. Sumwalt
Jeanne Jones
Several years ago, before we moved to Wisconsin, I was an honorary nanny for our pastor's son, Jonathan. I took care of him from the time he was able to walk until our pastor moved, when Jonathan was about five. We had wonderful times together. One time, when I was at their house, and we had been doing some spiritual direction together, Pastor Michael asked me if I knew the name of my guardian angel.
James Evans
We are not surprised when we learn about crooks and robbers boasting about "mischief done against the godly" or "plotting destruction" all day long. The image we have in our minds about who "bad" people are, and how they conduct themselves, make such accusations completely plausible. We are less inclined to believe such things about leaders, especially respected leaders among us. We have difficulty believing someone with wealth and power would deliberately plot to do someone else harm.
Arley K. Fadness
Today's gospel from Luke 10 follows the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke positions the good Samaritan and the Mary-Martha story back to back for good reason. The parable and the story are examples of the Great Commandment "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." The good Samaritan parable illustrates "love to neighbor," whereas the Mary-Martha story illustrates "love to God."
Kirk R. Webster
In the early 1990s, Wesley Nunley of Dallas completed a project he had dreamed of for decades. "I tell you, this could be a big thing," he explained. Wes then walked out to a concrete octagon in the middle of his backyard. With a beaming smile, arms raised up in excitement, the energetic retiree said, "This welcomes the UFO to land, which has never been done before."
John W. Wurster
It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
Our God is both wise and caring: afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

Pastoral Prayer
God, we bow before you this morning, knowing that you hear every prayer. We know that in all of Creation, you are the source of life. You are the one who set the light swirling between the galaxies. The breath of your Spirit pulses through all life. You have even become flesh among us. We praise you, Lord, that in all your wonder, you have not forgotten us.

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